With his oddball gear and crazy japes he was once as famous along Norfolk’s holiday coast as the Broads themselves.

He was the ‘Mad Hatter of Weybourne’, otherwise known as Patrick Townend, who gave up a conventional career to ‘entertain the people’ in the 1970s.

And Colin Rawlings from Holt’s Red Dot Gallery could think of no better subject to dress as for the launch of a new exhibition throwing the spotlight on Norfolk’s oddities.

The show, called Quirks and Quiddities - Folklore, Myths and Legends of Norfolk, will feature 20 paintings by Barrie Morris covering everything from Anne Boleyn’s ghost at Blickling Hall, the Black Shuck, the Vicar of Stiffkey and the Mad Hatter himself.

The exhibition will run from November 10-25, with a launch day on November 7 when Mr Rawlings will don the distinctive garb made famous by Mr Townend.